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Only four games into their 2008-09 season, the Blackhawks have fired head coach Denis Savard and replaced him with Joel Quenneville.

"I'm hurt, disappointed, whatever word you want to use, but I still want them to do well," Savard said. "I know they are committed to winning the Stanley Cup, and maybe they feel whoever they hire can get them there.

"But I really believe in my ability. When I look at what I did with the players I had, I'm proud of what we accomplished."

Savard said general manager Dale Tallon informed him of the coaching change when he arrived at the United Center for practice Thursday morning. Practice was later canceled.

"This was an extremely hard day for this organization and for me personally," Tallon said in a statement released to news organizations at 11:31 a.m. Thursday. "Denis is forever a part of our organization.

"We made a tough decision that we strongly feel is the right one as we continue to evaluate our team and create a championship-caliber organization that can sustain success."

Savard, who was working in the final year of his contract, said he met with Tallon and president John McDonough during the summer about getting an extension and left feeling there could be a potential problem.

"John was very clear," Savard said. "They said we reward winning here and you didn't make the playoffs. I didn't have a problem with that. I agreed 100 percent, and we didn't make the playoffs. I came out of that meeting saying in my mind, 'Let's go get it done.'"

Quenneville, 50, has a .592 regular-season winning percentage in parts of 11 years as a head coach in the NHL with St. Louis and Colorado.

"Joel brings us a wealth of experience and a winning track record that will have an immediate and lasting impact," Tallon said.

Savard, who became the team's 36th coach in November 2006, he led the team to a record of 24-30-7 in 61 games the season. Last season, his first full season as a head coach, the Hawks finished 40-34-8, totaling 88 points and missing the playoffs by 3 points.

The Denis Savard file

Denis Savard as a player:

• Drafted in first round (third overall) by Blackhawks in 1980.

• NHL career: played 1980-81 season through 1996-97.

• Two stints with Hawks, 1980-81 through 1989-90, and 1995 through 1996-97. Also played for Montreal and Tampa Bay.

• Blackhawks retired his jersey No. 18 on March 19, 1998.

• Inducted into Hall of Fame on Nov. 13, 2000.

Savard's NHL career stats:

Games: 1,196; Goals: 473; Assists: 865; Points: 1,338

Savard as a coach:

He began the 1997-98 season as the Blackhawks' developmental coach before joining the Hawks' coaching staff as an assistant coach under Craig Hartsburg on Dec. 3, 1997. He was named head coach on Nov. 29, 2006.